Right There All Along
by JimberlyShipper
Summary: EO hooks up, and chaos ensues. Kathy doesn't take it so well. R&R ya'll. Read to find out more! Where did all my readers for this story go? It's not right not to keep reviewing as you read something...
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: This is set during season nine, after the eggs are stolen. I forget the name of that one. But I think they needed a different ending, especially after the conversation that Elliot and Olivia had right before they got into the elevator. It's also how I think Livvy needs to get pregnant. So, read on! It's most likely a oneshot, but I left it open in case ya'll want me to continue it. So, read and review, ya'll! **_

Right There All Along

By Julia  
Olivia Benson was sitting at her desk, exhausted. She was thinking about the case they had just closed. The stolen eggs, and that woman who had wanted to get pregnant. She knew how she felt. She wanted a child so badly. Since she hadn't found Mr. Wonderful, well, she had, he just wasn't available, she'd looked into adoption. They'd turned her down. Elliot Stabler, her partner, _and_ Mr. Wonderful, told her that they were wrong. She had had to work not to keep her tears off her face when he had said that. He had no idea how much she wished she could have his child. They knew that they loved each other, but she wondered just how much he knew that she wanted to be with him. She'd thought that when she had come back to SVU, it would be different. It hadn't been. He had gotten his ex pregnant, and he had no idea how much that had hurt her.

Speaking of Mr. Wonderful, he walked into the squad room, looking so good, Olivia thought she might cry. He didn't say anything to her, just sat down at his desk and pulled out a file. She looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He looked really tired. She figured she was going to have to speak first. ''So, I'm sorry that I got angry at you.''

Elliot looked up. ''No, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't think about how you would feel before I said what I did. I should have known that I was going to hurt your feelings.''

Olivia smiled wearily back at him, and had to work to keep the tears off her face again. She decided she was going to tell him exactly how badly he had hurt her when Kathy had gotten pregnant. ''El, can I tell you something? It's important, so I really need you to listen to me.''

Elliot looked up at her again, seeing the pain etched on her face. ''Sure. Let's go somewhere a little more private. That way we can really talk about it.'' His reply was surprising to Olivia, but she was glad.

Olivia nodded. ''OK. Let's go to my apartment.'' She got up and grabbed her coat, and stood in the doorway, waiting until he had grabbed his own coat and had joined her.

When they got to her apartment, she let them in and hung her coat up and then got a couple of beers. She downed hers and sat on the couch, motioning for him to join her. She took a deep breath, and then said, ''OK. I'm glad that Kathy had the baby, and everything is going fine with it and all that, but you don't know how badly that hurt me.''

Elliot looked at her. ''What do you mean?'' He asked, dreading the answer. It sounded like they were going to get into some serious emotions. They didn't do that too often. It was too complicated. Plus, it was like if they didn't talk about whatever it was, then it wasn't there. They seemed to get along just fine that way. Less drama.

Olivia took another deep breath. At the risk of sounding like a damn soap opera heroine, she said, ''It hurt because I wanted to be the one who got pregnant with your baby. And I was just surprised. I had thought you guys were seperated, and it just _really_ hurt.'' Tears had started to fall down her cheek.

Elliot blew out the breath he'd been holding. He hadn't expected her to say that. ''To tell you the truth, Livvy, I really wanted it to be you, too. It just didn't really sink in until today.'' He took one of her hands in his own. ''When you said that they turned you down for adoption, that's when I realized that I really wanted to give you the baby you want.''

Olivia began to really cry. She buried her head in his shoulder and let it all out. All those pent up feelings that she'd been holding in just came out. She felt him put his arms around her. She cried for a bit longer, and then got up, to go get the hard stuff. She had a few bottles of Jack Daniels in her liquor cabinet. She got them out and a couple of glasses. ''Let's get plastered. I really need to get drunk right now.'' She told him, as she poured him a glass.

He took off his coat and his jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. He took the glass she handed him and downed it. She drank three before she poured him more. About a half hour later, they were through two of the three bottles, and Olivia was on her way to being completely plastered. She found herself unbuttoning the buttons on Elliot's shirt. She didn't let him stop her. She said, slurring her words, ''I have waited a long time to have you, and I'm not waiting anymore.'' She untucked his shirt as she reached the final buttons and pulled it off.

She ran her hands along his chest, marvelling as always at how great it was. He was so strong. She straddled him, and then ran her hand through his hair. She then lowered her mouth to his, for the best kiss she had ever had in her life, drunk or not. She wasn't surprised to feel him kissing her back.

Elliot ran his hands up into Olivia's hair, not really surprised that this was happening. When they had started sharing feelings, he had expected that this was going to happen. He was actually glad that they were drunk for this, because he _wanted_ to get Olivia pregnant. He wanted _so_ badly to give her the baby she wanted. She was less likely to remember the condom, having had so much Jack. He knew he was clean; Kathy was the only woman he'd ever had sex with, and vice versa. There was nothing to give her but a baby. He knew his swimmers were still strong, he'd managed to get Kathy pregnant.

Olivia climbed off him, not really wanting to do this on her couch. She had a feeling it was going to be wild. She took his hand, leading him into her bedroom. She pushed him on the bed, and quickly took off her top and unhooked her bra. She went to take her slacks off, but Elliot's hands stopped her. She said, ''What are you doin'? You can't stop now.''

Elliot smiled at her. ''Let's take it a little slower, OK? This has been a long time coming, and I don't want you to regret that it happened too quickly.'' He pulled her next to him on the bed, and began kissing her, capturing her mouth with his hungrily. He ran his hands in her hair again, and then down her back.

Olivia pushed him back on the bed, then she straddled him. She claimed his mouth again, then carefully undid the button on his pants. She didn't pull them off, just slipped her hand inside his boxers. She took hold of him and gently gave it a tug. He groaned against her mouth and slipped his hands down to grab her ass. She was glad she was pulling the handjob off nicely, because she was so drunk. She hadn't done this in awhile. Elliot seemed to like it, though, he was yanking her pants off and flinging them in the direction of the floor.

She let him yank off her Victoria's Secret panties, too, and then pulled his dress pants off and dropped them lightly on the floor beside the bed. She was just going to remove his boxers when he switched their positions. He wanted to take control. He wanted to show her what it was like to make love to your soulmate. He knew she had never had someone else love her the way she needed to be loved. He did, too, he loved her more than he had ever loved Kathy. There was no coming back from this now. He just hoped it was going to end the way that they wanted it to.

Olivia gasped when he entered her. He was easily the biggest she had ever had. She arched her back and groaned. He really knew what he was doing. She reached climax quickly, but her orgasm seemed to go on forever. When she finally came, she screamed his name more loudly than she had in the entire time she had known him.

Elliot kissed her one more time and pulled out, relaxing on the bed beside her. He ran his hand through her hair, hoping that magic had just happened. Well, it had, 'cause that was the best sex he'd ever had, but he was hoping that there was soon going to be a baby growing inside Olivia.

She kissed him once more, and then fell blissfully to sleep. He wrapped his arms around her, and settled his face in her neck, and fell asleep, too.

Things were weird for a little while. They didn't talk about what the wild night meant, but Elliot told Kathy, and he moved out. Olivia was beyond embarrassed that it had happened, good sex or not. Elliot had been married, and even though Fin told her that it wasn't her fault, Elliot could have told her to stop, she felt bad about it.

Then, about three weeks later, she was late for her period. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to choose a pregnancy test to take. There were so many to choose from. She finally just went with EPT and took it back to her apartment. The waiting was agony. She sat on the edge of the tub, staring at the stick. She really hoped it was positive, no matter what it meant for herself and Elliot. She hadn't known that they hadn't used a condom until her period was late. She wasn't mad, though, she figured maybe Elliot had done it on purpose. She'd been a lot drunker than he had been.

When the alarm on her phone went off, she picked up the stick and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and then looked at it. There it was. She was having a baby. She let the breath out and felt her eyes fill with tears. She was having Mr. Wonderful's baby. It had finally happened. But what was going to happen now?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

First things first, she had to decide when she should tell Elliot. _Before_ or _after_ the doctor. She wasn't going to let herself truly believe it until she had been told by a doctor. And boy, Kathy was going to _flip her lid. _She hated to admit it, but that made her kinda glad. Kathy was already pretty pissed off by the fact that Elliot had left her. Even though Liv felt bad about her and Elliot's sexy tryst, she felt Kathy deserved it. Elliot leaving her, that is. She'd left Elliot before. Turnabout is fair play, and all that.

When she arrived at work a couple of days later, pics of herself and Elliot were plastered _everywhere_ on every available surface. She put her hand to her mouth in surprise. Before this, only Fin and Kathy had known. Liv and Fin were close; they shared things. She knew he didn't do this.

She looked to Fin, taking her coat off and putting it on her desk chair. ''How long has it been like this? Has he seen it?'' She couldn't bring herself to say his name.

Fin shook his head. ''When we got here, it was like this. And he's not here yet, so I doubt it. You think Kathy did this?'' There was no doubt in his mind that El's ex was the one who had done this. She had been pretty pissed off when Elliot had told her about himself and Olivia.

Olivia shrugged. ''I don't know. I just wonder where all these pics of El and I came from. I didn't know that many existed.'' At closer inspection, it was the same four pics, used a lot. There was one of them that she especially loved that was hung on Cragen's office door. Elliot had had his arms around her. Her head was thrown back because he had made her laugh. It was from their first year of being partners. It had been taken right around the time she'd realized that she was in love with him. Nine years later, she still was, and now she had found out that he felt the same as she did.

Speaking of the devil, he entered the squad room, his eyes lighting up in surprise. ''Um, what's all this?'' Elliot waved his hand in the direction of the pictures.

Fin answered, since Olivia appeared to be incapable of speech. Tears had filled her eyes, and she was fighting them with all her might. ''We're not sure, either. My money's on Kathy.'' He wanted to step over to Livvy and comfort her, but he knew that was going to piss her off. She didn't want to be considered weak in front of the entire squad. Especially Elliot.

Elliot made a face. ''Naw, Kathy wouldn't have done this. And how did whoever get in to do it without anyone seeing them?'' He carefully avoided looking at Olivia. He had seen her tears, and was trying to ignore it, like he knew she wanted him to do.

Fin shrugged. ''Don't know. It was like this when the rest of us got here. I still think Kathy did this. The day after you moved out, she came here lookin' for you. You weren't here. You and Livvy were doin' an interview. She was really angry, El. And she wasn't looking for just you. She was also looking for Livvy.''

Olivia couldn't say she was surprised. ''She probably wanted to kick my ass. Not that I blame her.'' She looked directly at Elliot, who blushed. It was cute. She was about to lose the battle with her tears. Every time she looked at him nowadays, she wanted to cry. In some ways it was worse, knowing that she could have him if she wanted him.

Fin caught the look and smiled to himself. They needed to just give in and be together. ''Liv, I told you. There were two of you there that night. And one of you wasn't that drunk.'' He cast a Look on Elliot, who at least had the decency to look guilty.

Munch and Lake joined them before anything else was said. ''Ah, so the models are finally gracing us with their presence.'' Munch said, smirking.

Olivia made a face at him. ''Shut up, Munch. You know El and I didn't do this. That's what we're doing. Discussing who may have.'' She began to feel a little nauseous. Yay, that's all she needed, morning sickness. She put her hand to her stomach, grimacing. She didn't know Elliot saw, but he did, smiling to himself a little. He had a feeling he knew what that was.

Lake sat on his desk. ''So, Liv, that's not all we need to know. We need a why, too. You and Elliot piss someone off?''

Olivia met Elliot's gaze for a brief moment, and it all came back. The sweating, the grunting, and the best sex she had ever had in her life. She knew that in case it was Kathy, they should speak up. Fighting the tears again, she said, ''El and I declared our feelings for each other, and then we had...made love.'' She changed what she was going to say half-way through. That's what it had been. It had been more than just sex. It had been two soulmates giving in to what had been right there all along.

Lake and Munch weren't surprised. Especially Munch, since he had been expecting something like that to happen for years. Lake said, ''So you think that Kathy might have done this.''

Olivia replied, ''Well, that's what Fin thinks. She came in after El had moved out, looking for us. Fin said she was really pissed off.'' She put her hands over her stomach again. Her morning sickness was getting worse. She was glad that she had already eaten something that morning, so if she threw up, there'd be something there besides stomach acid.

Cragen came out of his office, ripping the picture that Olivia loved so much off on the way. ''OK, why are there all the pics of Stabler and Benson all over the place? What the hell did you two do?'' He asked Elliot and Olivia.

They shared a look again, and this time, Elliot was the one to speak. ''Liv and I made love three weeks ago, and I left Kathy. They all seem to think that she was the one behind this.'' He watched the look on Don Cragen's face. Whatever he had been expecting Elliot to say, it sure as hell wasn't that.

Cragen took the information in, and then turned to Fin. ''So why do you guys think that she may have done this?'' He was still trying to wrap his mind around this. It was a lot to take in. He had been expecting it for years, but it was another thing to have it totally confirmed.

Fin recounted the story he had told the others. ''She was really pissed off, Cap. It took us twenty minutes to get her to believe that we weren't hiding them from her. I was really worried for her sanity.'' He met Elliot's gaze when he said that.

Cragen said, ''Well, let's start by taking all these pictures down. Then Munch, Fin, you guys go down and talk to the night watchman, see how whoever got in unnoticed. Elliot, Olivia, you both take five.'' He shot down their protests. ''No, until we know who did this, I'm not taking any chances.''

Olivia was actually kind of grateful. Before Elliot could say anything to her, she rushed off to the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach. When she entered the squad room again, sucking on a breath mint, Elliot was smiling at her funny. ''What, Stabler?'' She asked, as she gingerly sat down at her desk.

He pulled his chair up close to hers and took both of her hands in his. ''You're pregnant, aren't you?'' He asked, smiling at the look of surprise in her eyes.

Olivia took a deep breath, tears threatening to fall again. ''How did you know that?'' She asked, a little bit breathlessly.

Elliot softly kissed her forehead. ''I was married to a woman who was pregnant four times, Liv. I know the signs. When are you going to the doctor?'' He asked, knowing that he was going to go with her. She didn't have a say in this anymore. He wasn't going to let her do this all by herself anymore.

Olivia tried to talk around the lump in her throat. ''I haven't called yet. As soon as I do, I'll let you know.'' She dropped her voice lower, and asked, ''You purposely tried to get me pregnant, didn't you?'' She only half wanted to know the answer.

Elliot just kissed her square on the mouth, in the crowded squad room, and headed back to his desk, smiling jauntily at her. He couldn't help but be happy that his plan had worked.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

They spent the day in a comfortable silence, although Olivia kept getting annoyed, because Elliot kept smiling at her. Normally, that would have made her happy, but it was the slightly arrogant smiling. It was _not_ cute.

Munch and Fin came back right before they were getting ready to go. Munch said, ''You know, I think Fin's right. As much as it pains me to say.'' This caused a Look from Fin. ''Kathy doesn't have an alibi for last night. She might actually have done this.''

Olivia asked, ''What does she claim to have been doing?'' She rolled her eyes as Elliot pulled her chair out for her and helped her put on her coat. He was going to be smothering now that he knew she was pregnant. Great. That's the last thing she needed, even though it was nice to be getting attention from him.

Fin wondered if they were together now, or if El was just sucking up because Olivia was looking a little annoyed. He replied, ''She _says_ she was taking Eli home from her mother's, but Maureen had Eli at the house in Queens last night.''

Elliot was surprised. Maybe Kathy had actuallly done this. He hated to think so, but maybe she _had_ been that angry. ''Well, are you guys going to ask her about it?''

Fin replied, ''We've still got to talk to the night watchman, find out how whoever it is got in. We wanted to wait until he got on duty. I think Kathy's looking real good for this, El. I know she's your soon--to-be ex, but I do. And she's known about you and Olivia for years, trust me.''

Olivia's face turned pink. ''Have all of you known about our feelings for each other all this time?'' She asked, hoping the answer was no. She knew it wasn't going to be. She couldn't get that lucky.

Fin and Munch looked at each other. They did. Lake was completely clueless, but they knew. They'd discussed it. Cragen might know, too, they'd just never asked him. ''Um, of course not.'' Fin tried to placate her.

Olivia groaned. ''Well, let us know what happens, I'm going home to relax. I'm feeling a little nauseous.'' She set a glare on Elliot, daring him to touch her. She didn't want him trying to help her outside or anything. She knew he was going to try.

Elliot said, ''I'll follow you.'' She cast another Look on him. He shot back, ''We are only _suspicious_ of Kathy. We don't know who did this, I'm not taking any chances. I don't want to break in a new partner.''

Olivia rolled her eyes, but she knew there was no arguing with him. She said bye to Munch and Fin, told them to tell the same to Lake when they saw him, and let Elliot lead her out to her car.

He also talked her into letting him stay at the apartment that night. ''Kathy knows where you live, Livvy. I want to make sure that you're safe. Just let me do that.''

Olivia headed into the bedroom to change. To his disappointment, she made him stay in the living room. She put on her second best pair of jeans and a soft pink tee. When she entered the living room again, she said, ''You know, I can take care of myself.''

Elliot nodded. ''I know. This is for me as well as for you. I won't be able to sleep if I think someone might be hurting you.'' He willed himself not to cry. She was fine, she was right in front of him, besides, he was here. Nothing was going to happen to her as long as he was here.

Olivia couldn't stay mad at him after he said that. She just couldn't, it was too sweet. ''Well, OK, if it makes you feel better.'' She conceded. He was lucky. She usually didn't let him baby her like this. But she wanted him to be able to not worry. If this is what it took, that was fine with her.

Elliot had taken off his jacket, and it was on her armchair. He sat on the couch, shoes on the floor, sleeves rolled up. He looked like he belonged. Olivia sat down, trying not to sit too close. Elliot messed that up for her by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

Olivia tried to pull away, but Elliot was too strong. ''El, if we start a relationship, it would be a bad idea. We work together. Closely together. It's bad enough that the entire squad knows we made love.''

Elliot laid his head against hers. ''No one has to know. We can keep it secret for awhile. They think we're not together right now, anyway. We'll tell them when you start showing.''

Olivia sighed. It sounded really good to her. She got to keep him all to herself for a little while. ''Mmmmmmmmmmmkay.'' She said, as she buried her head in his strong chest. He smelled like soap and Old Spice. It was wonderful.

The next morning, after the pleasurable marathon sex, Olivia made an appointment with the doctor. She made it for the next day, since Cragen had called and told her that they were going to stay home until the psycho was caught. This way, Elliot could go with her. He was insisting on it.

When she went into the kitchen, Elliot had breakfast going. It smelled heavenly. She sank into one of the kitchen chairs. Thinking aloud, she said, ''You know, it's going to be hard to hide this even for a little bit.''

Elliot looked at her. He was wearing a pair of sweats he'd found in Liv's dresser. He'd been surprised that they'd fit. ''No, it's not. We can do it. Have faith, Liv.''

Olivia cell rang, and she went to pick it up. ''Benson.'' She said, watching Elliot scramble eggs. She liked him cooking in her kitchen. It felt like home.

It was a blast from the past. Brian Cassidy. He was one of Munch's former partners. He'd used to work with them before he'd transferred to narcotics. ''Olivia, you _are_ alive.'' He sounded surprised, but relieved.

Olivia was confused. ''What are you talking about, Cassidy? Why wouldn't I be?'' This was a very confusing turn of events. She wasn't even aware that Cassidy still had her cell number. That's what she got for keeping the same number for ten years.

Cassidy told her to turn on the news, NY One. She turned it on, and discovered herself. They were claiming that she'd been murdered. ''It's _all_ over the news, Liv.'' He told her.

Olivia called Elliot into the living room, speechless. Had Kathy done this?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Olivia told Cassidy that she had to take care of the situation and hung up so she could call Fin. Hopefully, he would know what the hell was going on. ''Fin, did you know that I was murdered?'' She practically yelled when he answered.

Fin was a little taken aback, even though he'd seen the news. They were dealing with it. ''Calm down, babygirl. We've actually got a lead on that. Someone said that they saw Kathy leaving the studio very early this morning. We're going to check it out.''

Olivia said, ''Fin, have you called the media to tell them I'm alive? Someone I haven't heard from in ten years called me. Not to mention, all of New York City thinks I'm dead!'' She said the last bit a bit more loudly than she had intended. She didn't like this. She didn't like feeling powerless in a situation.

Fin tried not to laugh. He knew it was a serious situation, but it was a little funny to him. He was wondering why Kathy wanted everyone to think Olivia was dead. It didn't make any sense. ''I'm on it, babygirl. Don't worry. There's a press conference in a little while. Cragen's going to apologize for the papers. John went to talk to Kathy, ask her if she knows anything about it.''

Olivia tried to take a breath. Tears had filled her eyes, damn those pregnancy hormones. ''How did stuff get so messed up? Why can't Kathy just get over it? El and I aren't even together.'' She knew how ridiculous that sounded. Any idiot was going to assume that they were. They were never going to get away with this.

Fin knew that that was because of Liv. Elliot had told him the day before that he loved her and wanted to be with her. ''I know, Livvy. It's OK. Why don't you call Elliot and spend some time with him? Go to lunch. It doesn't have to be complicated.'' He also wanted to make sure that someone was with her. She seemed a little off since they had found out about her and El.

Olivia thanked Fin and hung up. She could feel Elliot's hands rubbing her arms. She could barely register anything. This was so messed up. ''Kathy's never going to be OK with this, is she?'' She shook her head and ran her hand through her short hair.

Elliot kissed her forehead. ''Hon, everything's going to be fine. Since no one knows we're together, she's just going to have to deal. I don't want to be with her. I want to be with you. I have since we met.''

Olivia shook her head. ''It's too complicated. It's not supposed to be this hard.'' She headed into the bathroom to shower. She had a lot to think about, and the shower would help.

When she got out, she felt much better. She went to the kitchen to get some coffee. El had the press conference on. Cragen was behind the podium, apologizing for the false story. She groaned. ''What did he say about why we think this happened?''

Elliot looked at her. ''Yes. He said that they think it was a very unbalanced woman. That's all that they wanted them to know, I think.'' He really concentrated on her. She looked very tired. This was taking a toll on her.

The door buzzer went off. Olivia went to get it. ''Who's there?'' She asked, hoping that it wasn't one of the squad members. She didn't really want to see any of them.

''Olivia Benson, let me the hell in. I want to fucking talk to you.'' Her boyfriend's ex's voice came back at her, and she not only sounded angry, she sounded a little bit crazed.

Olivia was shocked into silence. She wasn't sure what to do. She stood there for a second before she realized that she should say something back. ''OK, as long as you just want to talk.''

Elliot took off for the bedroom. He hoped Kathy was going to go against character and not be bitchy. Olivia didn't deserve that. They couldn't help how they felt.

Olivia let Kathy in when she knocked. ''What do you want, Kathy?'' She asked, stepping back to let her in the door. She wasn't liking the crazy look in Kathy's eyes.

Kathy was acting very strange, too. ''Why did you do it? Why did you fucking sleep with my husband?'' She demanded to know, sticking her hands on her hips like a freakin' cheerleader.

Olivia stepped back a little. Kathy was being a bit too unpredictable for her taste. ''I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am. But there were two of us there that night. El wanted it, too. I did start it, but he continued it. I'm sorry. El loves me. We're not together, you know. You can stop all the craziness. He wanted to give it some time. It could be a long time before we get together. It might not even happen.'' She was having serious doubts about the whole thing, just based on the way Kathy was acting.

Kathy folded her arms. She'd come over to kick Olivia's ass. She wasn't making it that easy for her. She tried to keep the tears off her face. ''That doesn't change the fact that he was someone else's husband.''

Olivia was getting a little angry. ''OK, did it ever occur to you that maybe _you_ were sleeping with _my_ husband? I have felt more like El's wife than you probably _ever_ have in the entire time you were married.''

Kathy's mouth dropped open. She could hardly believe that the bitch had just said it. ''Excuse me?'' She choked out.

Olivia was pissed off now. ''Yeah, you've probably seen _When Harry Met Sally_. Carrie Fisher tells Meg Ryan that she was going to have to spend the rest of her life knowing that someone else was married to her husband if she didn't do something about it. That was me until Elliot and I slept together.'' She couldn't help but feel a little better at the look on Kathy's face.

Kathy hadn't been expecting her to say that. ''Oh my God. I don't even know what to say to that.'' She seemed to have calmed down a bit. Olivia figured it was the shock of her words.

Olivia went to the door and opened it. ''You can go, and then you can tell me why the hell you told the papers I was murdered.'' She knew it had been Kathy. No one had to tell her. That was something she felt deep down in her gut.

Kathy shrugged. ''I wanted to cause Elliot as much pain as he's caused me. But that doesn't mean that it won't happen. Watch your back.'' She left, and as soon as she was out the door, Olivia shuddered. She'd clearly gone off the deep end. She went to the bedroom to retrieve Elliot. What _else_ was going to happen?

_**Author's note: So, this little bit at a time seems to be serving me well. This story has given me the most reviews I've ever gotten on one story. Thanks, ya'll. Hope you stay with me till the end!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note: This is going to get a little angsty, but only for like, five minutes. Just hang in there. It wouldn't be EO if it didn't have a little bit of drama. **_

Chapter Five

Olivia walked into the bedroom. El was sitting on the bed, looking sort of calm. She knew he wouldn't be after she'd said her piece. ''El, I need a little space. This is a little too crazy for me. We've got to cool it for a bit.'' She hated to say it, but she knew that she wasn't going to be able to do this until she knew that Kathy was going to calm down. She wouldn't feel right about the relationship until that happened.

Elliot got up. ''What? Liv, come on, baby. You can't say that! What about what we feel? Deep in here?'' He put his hand over her heart, and tears started falling down both of their faces. ''You have to listen to what it's telling you, babe. You _know_ that we're good together. You know that I'm not a planets aligning type of guy, but that's what it's felt like since we made love for the first time. It's felt like the best thing I've ever done. Loving you is my purpose on this planet.''

Olivia couldn't stop her tears. She hated seeing him hurt, and crying. ''I know, baby, I feel that, too, but I need time. There's too much going on. Everyone needs time. Especially Kathy. She's more than a little psycho. And with this baby, I just, I need time to breathe.'' Her voice was shaking.

Elliot took a deep breath through his tears, and turned around. He could hardly believe that this was happening. He wasn't letting her go because of his damn ex. ''Look, if you're going to do this, don't do it because of my crazy soon-to-be ex-wife. If you really need time to process, or whatever, fine. But if you're doing this because of how Kathy's handling it, then you'd best believe that I'm not giving you up without a fight.'' He turned to face her again.

Olivia was crying the hardest she'd ever cried in her life. She had never thought that she'd be breaking up with Elliot after only having been with him for a day. She hated this. ''Don't make this so damn hard! It's only for a little while. If this is _really_ fate, and I think we both know that it is, it's still going to happen. I don't want to mess this up because we rushed it. I've been waiting too long for you.'' She sobbed, as she saw how broken he looked. ''Please, _please_ just go. If you love me, you'll go now. Please.'' Her voice broke on the please, and his heart broke in two.

Elliot could barely speak. ''I just hope you're right. I love you, Olivia Benson. I'll wait forever for you.'' He kissed her for what he hoped wasn't the last time, and did as she asked. He couldn't not.

Olivia fell softly to the floor, sobs racking her body. This couldn't have turned out any more horribly wrong. She called Fin. After Elliot, he was her go to guy for help. She could barely say his name when he picked up.

Fin said, ''I'm on my way, babygirl. Just hold on. I'm coming.'' He practically _ran_ out of the squad room, hoping that Elliot hadn't hurt her. He would kill him.

When he got there, after he'd knocked a few times, he used his key to get in. That worried him. He found her in a ball on the bedroom floor. He went to her and pulled her into his arms. He had never seen her like this. ''Liv, baby, what happened?'' He asked her. He knew it had something to do with Elliot. Just a gut feeling he had. Nothing else could cause her to react this way.

Olivia took a deep breath and tried not to cry. She'd finally managed to stop. Now she just felt numb. ''Oh, Fin, it's all messed up. I just want to be with him, and I can't.''

Fin rubbed her back. ''Honey, why not? I know he loves you. And don't worry 'bout Kathy. We're going to get her.'' He could see where this was going. Liv was pulling back from El because she was worried about how Kathy was handling the information.

Olivia wiped her face. ''Because it's too hard. I told him that I need space to breathe. I told him that Kathy's being too weird about the whole thing. I just, I want him here, but I asked him to go.'' Her voice broke again, and tears filled her eyes again.

Fin hated this. He knew that she was overthinking it. ''Hon, you're making this harder than it has to be. El loves you. I can tell by the way he looks at you. And you're letting that bitch win. Just be wit him, babygirl.'' He rubbed her back some more.

She laid her head against Fin's chest. She was glad he'd come. She just wanted someone to be here with her. She didn't trust herself to be alone after what had happened. She snuggled tighter to Fin, and they stayed that way until Fin had to go back to work. He hated to leave her. She looked so _breakable_. He had never seen her that way before.

When he got back to the squadroom, Elliot was there. ''Elliot, what the hell did you do to my Livvy?'' He asked, no, yelled, as soon as he saw him.

Elliot looked up in surprise. ''_Your_ Livvy? What the hell are you talking about, Tutuola?'' He knew what Fin meant. He figured Liv must have called him after she'd asked him to go. He was glad that she was letting Fin in.

Fin got right in El's face. ''She called me, and she was cryin' so hard, she could barely say my name. I get over there, and I have to use my key, because she's curled in a ball on the bedroom floor. What did you _do_ to her?''

Elliot was pissed. ''_Excuse_ me? What did _I_ do to _her_? She told me to leave. I was trying to protect her. Kathy clearly has gone off the deep end. She told me to go. We're not together, Fin. She told me if I really loved her, I would leave. I do, so I did. She's being her stubborn self. She's worried about Kathy's reaction to everything.''

Fin calmed down a little. ''Sorry, El. I'm just really protective of Liv, and I've never seen her like that. She looks so broken. Did you try to talk to her?''

Elliot tried to keep the tears at bay. He was going to lose it if he thought that Liv wasn't at least a little OK. ''Of course I did. She wasn't listening to me. She thinks she knows what she needs better than I do. But I love her, so I gave her the space if she thinks she needs it.''

Olivia was lying on the bathroom floor, feeling like Izzie on _Grey's Anatomy _when Denny died. She couldn't move. She knew she should pull it together, for Baby Benson, but she just couldn't move. All she wanted to do was lie on the floor.

The door buzzer went off a couple of times. Olivia groaned. She knew whoever it was wasn't going away. She got up and headed into the living room. She went to the intercom. ''Who's there?'' She asked.

It was Munch. ''Hey, Liv, it's Munch. Can I come up?''

Olivia didn't really want to see him, but she knew he must have spoken to Fin. ''I guess so. Come on up.'' She went to put a robe on. She was wearing a pair of El's boxer shorts and one of her grey tees. Not really company wear, even if it was just Munch.

When she got back into the living room, Munch was knocking. She opened the door to let him in. ''Hi, John. I assume you've spoken to Fin, and that's why you're here.''

Munch nodded. ''He came into the squad room, yelling at Elliot because he thought that he hurt you. Are you OK? And Fin's right, you know. You're letting Kathy win if you don't get together with Elliot.''

Olivia rolled her eyes. She knew John was just trying to help, but it was very annoying. ''I'll be OK, Munch. Big girls don't cry.'' She said, knowing that he wouldn't know the song.

They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Liv got it, wondering who it was. ''Hello?'' She said, keeping one eye on Munch.

It was Fin. ''Liv, El's been kidnapped. We think Kathy's hired some guys. I'm thinking you'll want to come in.'' He hoped that she was going to be able to keep it together.

Olivia told John what was going on and ran to the bedroom to change. She was going to kill Kathy.

_**Author's note: Bwahahahaha. TBC...leave a review!!**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Olivia reached the precinct in record time. She had to find Elliot before something serious happened. Everyone was working their tails off, answering phones and everything. She stood by his desk for a minute and took a deep breath. She had to prepare herself for this.

She looked for Fin, and spotted him by the board. She saw Elliot's picture up there by Kathy's, and nearly freaked out. He had never been the victim like this before. It was very scary. She took another deep breath and asked, ''So, do we have any leads?'' She went to join him.

Fin said, ''Not really. I've got Lake checking out the pizza place where he was last.'' He took a look at her. She looked very worried. She still looked like she had earlier, only not as bad, since she was trying to hold it together. It made her look older than she actually was. He just hoped that they'd find Elliot in one piece. If they didn't, she would fall to pieces.

Olivia asked, ''Well, what happened? Why was he able to be taken in the first place? Wasn't he here? Munch said that you and Elliot had a fight. Munch wasn't at my place long. Where did he go? And he wasn't even supposed to be here. Cragen had sent us home.''

Fin replied, ''Well, we talked about what we could do about Kathy, and then he left to go get a pizza. A witness called us and said that she saw the whole thing. That's the only way that we knew it was him. She showed us pics that she took wit her phone.''

Olivia looked at the map. ''OK. So that was on 42nd St. Is that where Lake is? Talking to the pizza people?'' She was concentrating too hard on the map, but if she didn't, she was going to lose it.

Fin nodded. ''Yeah. He's checking with the owner, and the workers, seeing if they saw anything. We put his picture on the news. We're just trying to find Kathy, too. That's where Munch is, I called him before he left your place.''

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If she didn't calm down, Cragen was going to send her home. She wished that she could be connected to him physically. She wasn't sure that she entirely believed that that worked. She wished it did, they'd find him faster. She opened her eyes and said, ''We've got to consider the possibility that whoever grabbed him took him out of the city. He's a cop, the entire city's looking for him.''

Fin nodded. ''We have. Munch's already alerted the cops in Jersey. They'll have a hard time getting across the state line. Has he tried to call you at all? We're assuming he still has his phone on him.''

Olivia shook her head. As soon as she did, she got a text message. She knew it was Elliot, no one else ever texted her. Her heart skipped a beat as she flipped her phone open. _Liv, check out Leslie Davenport. She's Kathy's best friend. That's where Kathy is. _It said nothing about how much he loved her and how much he missed her. She needed to hear it.

Olivia showed Fin the text. ''You want to go with me? I don't think I should go alone.'' She didn't trust herself to not to kick Kathy's crazy little ass. She would, too. She was finding it hard not to just grab her gun and go. Normally, she'd never be driven to that extreme, but this was Elliot. He could die. She had already lost him once, she wasn't losing him again.

Elliot was lying on his back, hands tied in front of him. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew it was somewhere in Jersey because he had heard the guys who grabbed him arguing about getting across the state line. He hated this. He missed Olivia. He knew she had to be going crazy. _He_ was. He could hardly believe that they'd been able to get the drop on him. He hated it.

He heard the younger one coming back. He figured that there was a younger one because he sounded like the kids who went to school with his daughter Kathleen. She was a sophomore in college. He hadn't actually seen either of them yet because they had had a blind-fold on him in the car. When they had brought him in wherever they were, they'd removed it, but the room had been dark. He hadn't gotten a good look.

The kid came into the room, switching the light on. He was carrying a tray of food. It contained a cheeseburger and fries. ''I thought you might be hungry.'' He said, as he sat down next to Elliot on the floor.

Elliot sat up, waving his hands in the kid's face. ''Can't eat when I can't move my hands.'' He knew he could try to get the drop on this kid, but then he'd have to find some way to get out. Plus, he still wasn't sure where they were. He wasn't sure how to get home.

The kid untied Elliot's hands and made sure that the ankle bracelet around his ankle didn't come loose. Elliot _was_ famished. He hadn't gotten to eat the pizza he'd gone to get. He wolfed down the burger.

After the kid had left again, thankfully forgetting the re-tie his hands, Elliot got a text. He pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open. It was from Olivia. _Will do, El. Fin's going w/ me. I don't trust myself to not kill ur crazy wife. Where r u? I want to find u. I luv u. _

Elliot's eyes misted. He wiped them and went to text her back. She was the only person that he ever texted. And vice versa. Fin had actually pointed that out to them once. _Somewhere in Jersey. The 2 guys that got me argued when they crossed the state line. Luv u, 2. _

A couple of minutes later, he got another one. _We're on the way to Davenport's. Try 2 find out where in Jersey. I'll ask Kathy. Don't die, OK? I couldn't handle it. _

Elliot tried not to cry, it would call attention to himself. He had to wait a moment before he could respond. _I promise I won't. I don't want to put u thru that. Don't worry, I'm not planning on any huge heroics. Don't kill Kathy. She's not worth losing ur freedom. _

He looked around the room while he waited for her to text back. Thankfully, the kid had left the light on. He was in a semi-furnished bedroom. There was only one window, and nothing he could use for a weapon. That wasn't going to help anything. His phone vibrated, and his heart skipped a beat. _Don't worry. That's y Fin's going w/ me. So I won't. I AM going to make her talk. Oh, am I going to make her talk. _

He laughed to himself as he went to text an answer. That was good old Liv. _Oh, I'm sure u will. I hate to miss it. I'm sorry that u got hurt. U know that wasn't the plan. I luv u. _

Olivia got that text and sent three more, each one more urgent than the last. None were answered. She was good and pissed when they got to Kathy's best friend's place. Not to mention, scared out of her mind and worried to death. El had _never_ not answered a text. It meant he couldn't. It scared her even more because that last _I luv u _was so _final_. It scared the _hell_ out of her. Kathy better be hoping that he was OK, 'cause Olivia was going to kick some ass.

_**Author's note: Coming up next, Olivia and Fin interrogating Kathy and Leslie. And why hasn't Elliot texted Liv back? Leave a review, or no one will ever know! Bwahahahahahaha!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Olivia had to control her knock, so that she didn't yank the door off its hinges. Fin gave her a "what the fuck is wrong with you" look, because yes, the love of her life was missing, but they still couldn't lose their cool. She gave him back a "leave me the fuck alone" look. She wanted Kathy to be scared out of her wits.

Leslie Davenport opened the door, and almost immediately recognised Olivia. ''What are you doing here, you bitch?'' She asked, tossing back a long lock of her chesnut hair. It was a bad dye job.

That was like waving a red blanket at a bull. Olivia slapped Leslie across the face, ignoring her friend's look of disbelief. ''I'm a police officer, you don't speak to me that way.''

She pushed Leslie out of the way and entered the house. She didn't even check to see if Fin was following, she had tunnel vision, and all she could see was Kathy. ''Kathy Stabler, what the hell did you do to _my _Elliot? Keep in mind that I'm going to kick your ass regardless of what you answer.'' She snapped.

Kathy saw the wild and pissed off look in Olivia's eyes. ''I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just hanging out with Leslie, getting in a little girl time while Maureen watches Eli for me.''

Olivia got right in Kathy's face. ''If he dies, they'll have to come up with a new forensic science to figure out how you were killed.'' She was more angry than she had ever been in her entire life. She was beyond the point of caring about anything but getting _her_ man back.

Kathy looked at Leslie. ''Did you hear that? She threatened me. I could sue.'' She still wasn't afraid of Olivia, although she knew that's what the bitch wanted.

Fin was angry now. ''Look, bitch, you're our main suspect for El's disappearance, so don't start gettin' snotty.'' He wasn't going to have her getting Liv in trouble.

Olivia flashed him a smile and turned back to Kathy. ''Look, I'm serious. Elliot better be alive, or nothing will stop me from putting who's responsible behind bars.'' She met Kathy's eyes with a seething hatred.

Leslie was standing in the doorway to the living room, slowly dialing a number on her cell phone. Fin heard her and turned around. She tried to close the phone, but Fin snatched it right out of her hand.

He said, ''Who you callin', girl?'' He held the phone to his ear. ''Fin Tutuola, who'm I talking to?'' He asked, as he hoped that this was going to be a break in the case.

The kid who'd given Elliot the burger and fries was the one who replied. ''I'm Dave Hartzberger. Where'd Leslie go? We have to talk about what she wants me to do with the body.''

Fin got more angry than he had in a long time. ''What she wants you to do with WHAT? Boy, do you know you're talking to a COP? I'm DECTECTIVE Fin Tutuola. Now, why don't you tell me what you're talking about?''

Leslie and Kathy both tried to make a run for it, but Olivia chased after them, Fin following as he kept talking to Jon. Olivia grinned to herself as she kicked Kathy in the leg to take her down. Then, she climbed on top of her and said, ''Kathy Stabler, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Elliot Stabler.'' She proceeded with the rest of her rights, as Fin hung up and grabbed Leslie.

They took them to the house, and Fin managed to get a call in to Cragen on the way. He hated to do it, but he told Don what had happened. He thought that he might need to talk to Liv, remind her what the objective was. Besides, he needed to know what had happened in case Leslie or Kathy decided to claim police brutality.

So Cragen was waiting for Olivia when they got there. ''Benson, now.'' He said, not surprised that she'd acted the way she had, because of Elliot, but she couldn't just go crazy like that. She was making the whole dept. look bad.

Olivia glared at Fin before she headed into Cragen's office. She closed the door behind her, and turned to face her boss, feeling like a daughter getting chewed out by her father. ''What?'' She asked, as he stood there for a minute.

''I want to know exactly what you were thinking when you slapped Leslie Davenport across the face and threatened your boyfriend's ex-wife. IAB is going to have a field day with this when they find out.'' Cragen set a disapproving look on her.

Olivia folded her arms and worked to keep the tears off her face. Fin had told her what the kid had said. ''Don, first of all, El is not my boyfriend, and two, he might be dead. Did Fin tell you that before he ratted me out? This kid, one of the kidnappers, Leslie called him to talk to him about what she wanted him to do with THE BODY.'' She practically yelled, as tears slipped down her face.

Cragen hadn't heard this. Fin had not revealed this to him. ''What?'' He asked, as he ached to ease her pain.

Olivia was practically shaking. ''I can't do this. I can't work like this. I have to _know_ that he's OK. Cap, I want to kill Kathy. I _know_ she did this, and I want revenge. I'm not going to be able to calm down until I _know_ what happened to him. If he's dead...'' She had to stop and compose herself, but her voice was still unsteady when she began again. ''I've got to walk away and never come back. I can't do this job without him.''

Fin knocked on the door, and opened it. ''Liv, Leslie cracked. They had El in Jersey. Let's go. Munch and Lake can book them.''

Olivia said, ''Hold on, let me talk to Kathy.'' She went into the interrogation room, smiling slightly at Kathy's slight recoil. ''Kathy, Fin and I are on the way to find Elliot. If he's dead, you can prepare for your life to be over.'' She set her best Benson glare on her and left with Fin.

The sun was hot in the rocky quarry. A long, muscular body was lying in an out of the way corner, his hands handcuffed with his own cuffs, his cell phone lying broken beside him.

_**Author's note: Stay with me, all is not lost...hahahaha. **_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The drive to Jersey was a long one. Fin was less tired, so he got to drive while Olivia slept fitfully in the passenger seat. She was dreaming about Elliot. He was wandering around Jersey, lost and tired, calling out for her. She sat bolt upright in the seat when the dream reached its climax, the unknown partner shooting Elliot in the back.

Fin rubbed her arm lightly. ''It's OK, Liv. El's going to be fine. He's not dead. He can't be dead.'' He knew Olivia wasn't ever going to be able to come back from that. She would just completely shut down. That's how he knew that they were meant for each other. They were so in love that they would be completely devastated if they permanently lost the other one.

Olivia sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She was exhausted. She hadn't slept much since she and El had made love. Too much drama. This horror, this almost losing him, made her realize that life was too short. She was just going to be with him. Besides, Kathy was going to jail for a very long time. She wasn't going to be able to do anything about it.

When they got to Jersey, Fin stopped at a gas station. They still had a forty minute drive to Gainesville, where Leslie said that Dave and his partner had taken Elliot. Fin went to get gas, while Olivia got out to stretch her legs. All she could think about was Elliot. She missed him and she hoped he was alright. She didn't know what would happen to her if he was dead. She was trying not to think about it. She knew she would just completely break down before they found him if she concentrated too much on it.

Fin got back in the car. Nearly sixty dollars to fill the car. He wished they'd been able to take the train, but there'd been no time. They'd had to jet. After Liv had gotten back in the car, he took off again. They rode in silence for about twenty minutes. He hoped that they weren't too late, he knew that that wasn't the outcome they were hoping for. They were hoping that he was still alive.

Olivia broke the silence by sniffling. She had tears slowly falling down her face. She wished Fin would drive faster. She had to know if Elliot was alive. No other possibility was acceptable.

Gainesville was a small town. Fin wondered why Dave and his partner had brought El here. Outsiders got more attenion in small towns. He looked around for Peach Street, Leslie had told him the house where they had had Elliot would be there. He really hoped that they'd find Elliot in one piece. He wanted this to be over. Liv and El deserved to be happy.

The house was a beautiful two story place, painted blue. Liv jumped out of the car almost before Fin had completely stopped. She headed to the front door, figuring a knock couldn't hurt.

She was pleasantly surprised when a tall man came to the door. He was taller than El, and had long hair. It was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked bigger than El, too. That explained why they got the drop on him. ''I'm Dect. Olivia Benson. I'm here with my partner, Dect. Fin Tutuola. Leslie told us you're holding my boyfriend Elliot Stabler hostage.''

The man looked at her for a second, and took off running. She followed him through the house, and into the garage, where he tried to get into his car. She yanked him back and very nearly knocked him out as she did. ''Where the hell is my boyfriend, you bastard?'' She yelled, as she held him in place despite his struggling. She was amazed at her strength.

The man struggled as hard as he could against Olivia's grip. ''What are you talking about? Who's your boyfriend?'' He struggled some more as Olivia pinned him beneath her. He seemed to be stalling.

''Elliot Stabler. We know Leslie Davenport hired you and your little friend Dave Hartzberger to kidnap him. Kathy Stabler was in on it, too. Where is he? Do you understand that if you don't tell me right now, I will break something vital? That man is the love of my life and I'm not going to lose him. Where the hell is he?'' Olivia ignored the look of shock Fin was giving her. She knew that she hadn't been acting like herself since Elliot had gone missing, but she had never been seperated from Elliot like this for this long. It made her a little crazy and out of conrtol. She couldn't stop herself.

''Look, lady, my name's Pete Townsend, and all I know is, Elliot Stabler isn't here anymore. Hartzberger dropped him in one of the town's quarries.'' Pete looked more than a little uncomfortable.

Olivia wanted to put her hands around his neck and squeeze, but she knew that wouldn't get her what she wanted. ''Where are the quarries located?'' She managed to sound semi calm.

Pete replied, ''There's one by the only cemetary, and then there's one not far from here. I'm not sure which one he took him to.'' Olivia was a little relieved, he'd said _him_ instead of _the body_.

Olivia put him under arrest for kidnapping and attempted murder, and then she and Fin made him take them to the quarries. Olivia got out first when they reached the second, hoping that they'd find him here. She was having a hard time trying not to punch Pete in the face.

She searched the entire quarry, until she finally saw a broken cell phone. A few paces closer, and she'd found him. She called out, ''Elliot, Elliot, baby, please be alive.'' She knelt beside him, undoing the handcuffs and pulling out her phone to call an ambulance.

She rode with him but they made her wait in the waiting room when they rushed him off to surgery. Fin and Townsend had followed, and they had joined her. Fin watched her, wondering when she was going to lose it and cry. She sat very still, filling out forms. She wasn't accepting any possibility but that he was alive. Death was not an option.

An hour later, a very nervous looking doctor came out. Dr. Simpson. ''Mrs. Stabler?'' He asked, voice trembling a little bit. He looked to be not much older than thirty.

Olivia didn't bother to correct him. It was true enough. ''How is he?'' She asked, getting up nervously. She'd been sitting there for a half an hour, having filled out all the forms.

Dr. Simpson said, ''We had to go in and revive him, make sure that there wasn't any head injuries, that sort of thing. He was unconscious for quite awhile. We're going to keep him overnight for observation, but you can see him now. He's going to be fine.''

Olivia thanked him and went off to El's room. She found him awake, looking a little disoriented. Tears filled her eyes, but she went in and sat in the chair next to his bed, taking his hand. Through her sobs, she said, ''I'm never leaving you again. I love you, Elliot.'' She kissed him softly, never wanting to let him go ever again.

Elliot kissed her back. ''That's good to hear. I love you, too, Olivia.'' He said, a little drowsily. He seemed to have been waiting for her before he went to sleep. Satisfied, he drifted off to sleep, looking peaceful and like a little boy almost.

She held his hand and watched. She was afraid to let go. She never wanted to be without him ever again. This was for life as far as she was concerned.

_**Author's Note: TBC...coming up next chappie, Kathy and Leslie's day in court. Will Casey put 'em away? Review to find out!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Three months later, Olivia was leaving the doctor's office with Elliot, rubbing her very tiny bump. She was surprised she'd begun to show. She figured she wouldn't until the next month. She was about three months along. El had been great. He'd gone to every doctor's appointment with her. She was hoping for a girl. She knew Elliot didn't care as long as it was healthy. She just wanted a little girl, and she wanted her to have her daddy's eyes. She and Elliot both had dark hair, so she figured the child would have dark hair, too.

He held the door open for her as she climbed into the car. The past three months had been crazy. Leslie and Kathy were both at Riker's, much to their dismay, and Pete Towensend and Dave Hartzberger both plead out. They got three years for kidnapping in exchange for their testimony against Leslie and Kathy. That's who Casey was really after. They were facing kidnapping and attempted murder charges. Kathy's lawyer, Chauncey Zierko, was going with the psych defense, since she was obviously out of her guord, and he'd also helped speed up the divorce process for Elliot, much to his surprise. He was completely finished with her. The kids weren't sure how to treat her. Being put in Riker's had seemed to drive her even more over the edge. She was very erratic when the four older Stablers went to visit. Elliot always took Eli happily when they did this.

They headed back to her apartment, Elliot singing _way_ out of tune to Daughtry on the way. She grinned at him. It was so cute. She was the happiest that she'd ever been. She had never thought in a million years that she'd actually get Elliot, though. She'd never been that lucky in her entire life, except when she'd been partnered with him.

When they got to her apartment, the phone was ringing very loudly. Olivia hurried inside to get it. ''Benson.'' She said, eying Elliot as he came in calmly, closing the door behind him. She hoped to one day soon answer the phone, "Stabler." She hoped that that would be possible.

It was Casey. ''I'm glad I got ahold of you. I want to use you as a witness at Kathy's trial. She threatened you, right?'' She had all the papers open on her desk in front of her.

Olivia sat down on the couch, Elliot removing her coat. She could get used to all the attention. It would get old eventually, but for now, it was nice. She and Elliot were together, and had been since that night in the hospital. She was never letting him go again. He had been great about Baby Benson, too. He'd been the best boyfriend he could be.

Olivia was startled back into reality by Casey hollering her name. ''I'm sorry, Case. Just thinking. Yeah, I'll testify against her. I've got a plan, though. I want you to ask her how she feels about me being pregnant with Elliot's child.'' This was her telling Casey.

Casey's gasp was _very_ audible. ''Oh my God, Liv, are you serious? Kathy is going to flip her lid. Seriously, she's going to go even more crazy than she already is. I _want_ to do it. It'll be great. A thing of beauty. Can't wait.'' She was actually picturing it in her head. She would be happy to give that little piece of information to Kathy.

They spoke a bit more, and Olivia hung up. She caught Elliot looking at her. ''El, you _know_ she deserves this. Kathy's a straight up bitch. I want her to find out about the baby in court. She won't be able to do anything crazy.''

Elliot laughed. ''Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but I've never heard you say "straight up bitch" before. You've been hanging out with Fin way too much.''

Olivia smiled at him. ''There's never enough time for Fin. I don't see him _enough_. But you're right. I got that from him. I am so not street like he is.'' She wasn't going to share her rap name with him. That was between her and Fin.

The phone rang again. Olivia picked it up. ''Benson-Stabler residence.'' She said. Yeah, Elliot had moved in the month before. Olivia didn't know it, but he was looking for a bigger place for all three of them and his other children.

It was a young kid. ''Hi, I'm Matthew Kelso. I'm the law student of Chauncey Zierko, Kathy Stabler's lawyer. We need to discuss what I'm going to ask you on the stand.''

Olivia almost laughed. ''I'm not discussing that with you without the ADA present. She's the one who needs me to testify. She's the one who needs to know. How long have you been in law school, Mr. Kelso?''

Matthew replied, ''Not long, Ms. Benson. I don't plan on being a great lawyer. I plan on being the worst lawyer ever. I'm just learning on the best way to do it. Mr. Zierko is the best lawyer I know, so I plan on learning just the opposite of what he does. I already have my business cards made up. 'Matt Kelso, Worst Lawyer Ever.'''

Olivia was fighting the urge to laugh. ''I know you're serious, kid, but you've got to be kidding me. Well, good luck. Do you want to set up a time to meet? I can tell you when I'm available, and then you can call Ms. Novak.'' She knew Casey was going to wallop this kid and Zierko's asses in court. He'd find out who the best lawyer really was.

They discussed a time to meet and plan strategy, and hung up. Olivia told Elliot all about the conversation, and they both laughed. Kathy and Leslie were both doomed.

The next morning, Olivia woke up and headed to the coffee house that had been agreed apon for the meeting. Casey was already waiting for her. She smiled when she saw her. ''Wow, you weren't kidding. That's a little baby bump you've got there.'' She said.

Olivia ran her hand over it. She tried not to cry. It was all she had ever wanted. Elliot Stabler's child. Sometimes, she had to tell herself it was still happening. ''Yep. I can't wait for Kathy to find out.''

They were interrupted by the arrival of Matt Kelso, and they sat down to business. It was agreed that Matt was going to ask her about her long relationship with Elliot, and how she'd gotten along with Kathy. He was also going to ask her about the fight they'd had at her apartment. Olivia really did think that Matt Kelso wanted to be the worst lawyer ever, because he was basically handing her their defense. But she wasn't going to question it. They had a solid case against her boyfriend's ex, and she was going to go away for a very long time.

A couple of weeks later, Casey had Kathy Stabler on the stand, her first witness. She was just getting ready to ask her the million dollar question. ''Mrs. Stabler, do you hate Ms. Benson for the fact that she is carrying your ex-husband's child?'' Zierko jumped up to object as Kathy's mouth dropped open in horror. Her eyes met Olivia's, who was smiling as she and Elliot sat very closely together in the first row of the courtroom. Elliot had his arm around her, and as Kathy stared at her, Olivia slipped her hand through the one that rested on her arm. She continued to smile at her cockily.

Kathy jumped up in her seat, causing chaos. Zierko was hollering at her to sit back down, the judge was banging her gavel, Kelso was laughing and taking notes, Casey was arguing with Zierko about the question, and amidst all this, Kathy yelled, ''I'm going to kill you, you slutty bitch!''

Olivia just stared back at her, smiling her cocky smile, as they led Kathy out of the room, and the trial was on recess for a week.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The following week, Olivia was trying to get ready for court, and couldn't find anything she wanted to wear. She wanted to look better than Kathy. She was testifying today, as long as Kathy wasn't going to be declared too crazy to stand trial. Zierko had been really pissed at Casey all week for pulling what she had. Olivia had laughed when Casey had told her that Zierko had called five times to complain.

Elliot came in the bedroom, already dressed in his suit. His time on the stand was hopefully never coming. Casey was planning on trying to do it without him, thank the Lord. He watched Olivia as she stared into her closet. ''Hon, no matter what you wear, you'll be prettier than Kathy. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.''

Olivia smiled at him. ''That's sweet, baby, but I _am_ going to look the best I've ever looked. I'm going to make her as crazy as I can.'' She finally decided on her black flippy skirt (which was elastic, so she didn't have to worry about buttons. She hadn't completely finished her maternity shopping yet) and a deep red top. She unbuttoned just enough buttons so as not to appear slutty. She had to worry about that now, what with her breasts getting bigger because of the baby. She slipped on some high heels and headed into the bathroom to fix her hair.

Elliot had gone tieless, and his shirt was blue, (Olivia's favorite on him) and the suit itself was gray. He knew Olivia liked the 'open collar' look. He hoped that there wasn't going to be any more theatrics in court, because he really wanted to have the whole mess over with. He just wanted her out of their lives. The kids were still in shock that their mother had done this.

Olivia came into the living room, and got out her tiny clutch. She didn't usually carry a purse, but she was going to that day. She called to Elliot in the bedroom before going in the kitchen to take her prenatals. This was going to be an interesting day.

Casey was waiting for them nervously when they got to the courthouse. ''Come on, you guys. Court starts in five minutes.'' Her long hair was curled, and her outfit was immaculate. ''Kelso's really excited about this.'' She told Olivia.

Olivia nodded. ''He called me last night, just to chat. He told me that he actually got to hand out some of his business cards. That kid is just a little bit on the weird side. We should introduce him to Munch.''

Elliot hadn't actually gotten to speak to Matthew Kelso yet, so he had no idea what they were talking about. He'd seen the kid in court, but he was totally clueless about the business cards. He didn't really care. He was just glad that the kid was a _terrible_ lawyer. He had no idea that that's what the kid actually wanted.

They headed in, Casey smiling cheerily at Chauncey Zierko, who was not looking happy. Leslie and Kathy both sat at the table, looking upset. Kelso was talking to Zierko. He was looking excited, so that explained a bit about why Zierko was looking so pissed off.

Olivia and Elliot sat down, Olivia catching Kathy looking at her. She smiled cockily at her and slipped under Elliot's arm. Then she rubbed her bump and slid her other hand in El's. Kathy looked as if she was going to flip her lid. Leslie glared at Olivia, too, and Olivia figured if looks could kill, she'd be so dead, she'd be ashes.

The proceedings began, with Casey calling Olivia first. ''So, Ms. Benson, what happened when Mrs. Stabler came to your apartment?'' They shared a Look, like 'yeah, she's still Mrs. Stabler, right.'

Olivia replied, ''Well, I was at home. I'd been sent home because my boss thought that someone was 'out to get' my boyfriend Elliot Stabler and I, because there were pictures of us all over the station. She comes over and picks a fight with me because Elliot and I were together. And we weren't at the time, that was the funny part. We argued a bit about that, and then, before she left, she told me that the reason she'd told the media that I was dead was because she wanted El to suffer as much as she had. But she told me to watch my back.''

Casey folded her arms. ''And had you done anything besides sleeping with Elliot to warrant this? Had you called her or threatened her in any way?'' She hoped that the judge wouldn't stop her for her comfortable exchange with her friend. She didn't want to lose this case because she was too close to Olivia and Elliot.

Olivia shook her head. ''Of course not. After Elliot and Kathy split up, I hadn't had any contact with her. Not that we had much before that. She's never really liked me.'' She couldn't help herself. She met Kathy's gaze after she said that. She gave her the best cheeky expression she could manage, and tried not to laugh when Kathy looked all pissed off.

Casey walked over to stand by the jury, clasping her hands in front of her. ''And how long have you and Elliot Stabler known each other?'' She'd wanted to phrase it 'been together' to drive Kathy insane, but she didn't want to confuse the jury.

Olivia moved a piece of hair out of her face. ''Nine years. Before we started dating, we were best friends.'' She stopped as tears filled her eyes. It wasn't even fake ones. They were real. ''I am with my best friend. I think that's why Kathy tried to kill him, because she was jealous. She was jealous because our relationship is better than theirs was. He loves me more than he ever loved her.'' She wiped tears off her face and tried not to look triumphantly at Kathy and Leslie.

Then it was Matt Kelso's time to question her. ''So, Ms. Benson, do you blame Kathy Stabler for not liking you? You stole her husband.'' He winked at her, and unless you were in on the joke, you couldn't tell that they had discussed this the night before.

Olivia said, ''I'm not condoning my behavior in any way, but I didn't steal him. He was never really hers to begin with. If you ask him, he'll tell you that he's loved me since he laid eyes on me nine years ago. Jack Daniels was just what set it free. You can't steal what's already yours.''

Kelso smiled at her. ''You're right, Ms. Benson, you can't. So, why did you slap Mrs. Davenport across the face the day you arrested her and Kathy Stabler? What did she do to warrant that?''

Olivia said, ''Well, Dectective Tutuola and myself went to talk to Kathy at Mrs. Davenport's place of residence to see if she knew anything about what had happened to El, because he was missing. All I had done was knock on the door, and she snapped at me and asked me what I was doing there. I kind of snapped. I was really worried about my baby. Scared out of my mind. I really wanted to find him. I wasn't myself.'' She was trying to keep her cool. Just talking about it was bringing back the rage she had felt that day.

Kelso said, ''And you were that way with Kathy because she'd already threatened you, right? Plus, you ended up finding out that she was the one behind the hiring of the men who kidnapped your boyfriend.''

Olivia nodded. ''Yeah. Tutuola was actually worried that I was going to beat her ass once we found that out, but that's only because I was worried about Elliot. I would do anything to make sure that he's OK and safe.'' She met his gaze when she said this, and they both tried not to cry.

With that, his questioning was done, and Zierko looked ready to kill him, but didn't add anything and Olivia was free to sit down again. They got Pete and Dave's testimonies, and since that went without a hitch, the court adjorned for the day. Closing arguements would be the next day.

Olivia and Elliot both went to talk to Casey. Elliot slipped his arm around her and Olivia put her hands on her growing stomach. Casey smiled at them. ''Wow, you guys look so happy together.''

Elliot kissed Olivia's forehead. ''I'm the happiest I've ever been. So, I think you're going to win.'' He smiled to himself as he thought about the fact that anyone who observed himself and Livvy would assume that they were married. It was an awesome feeling.

Casey nodded. ''I totally think so, too. It doesn't help that the entire time Olivia was on the stand, Kathy kept glaring at her. It also doesn't help that Kelso's _trying _to be a bad lawyer.''

Olivia said, ''Well, she was probably pissed that I got to share my side of the story. She wanted them all to think that I'm a total bitch who stole her husband away from her, when in all reality, I didn't have to steal anyone. He was ready for the taking.''

They talked a bit more, and then Elliot and Olivia headed back home. Casey watched them walk away, amazed at how happy they looked. She'd never seen a happier couple.

_**Author's Note: Matt Kelso is based on a real friend of mine and cannot be used. Coming up next chapter, Kathy's sentencing, and the gender of the baby! Suggestions and names are totally welcomed! No reviews, it will forever stay open! **_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The next day, Olivia awoke from the best sleep that she'd ever had. She had cuddled up next to her boyfriend, and he'd put his hands on her stomach. It had been amazing. She slipped out of bed very reluctantly. She and Elliot were going to have to get ready to go to court, they were going to hear the final arguements. She really wanted to see what was going to happen. After the circus that had resulted the last time they'd been in court, it would definitely be interesting. Not only that, but she wanted to see if Zierko was going to let Matt Kelso screw them. It was really going to be entertaining.

She headed into the kitchen to get some coffee. She saw that Elliot had already made some, and she was happy about that. She got a mug out and nearly jumped out of her skin when Elliot joined her, looking freshly showered. She smiled at him. There was no doubt in her mind that he smelled amazing. ''You scared me, baby.'' She said, as he gave her a good morning kiss.

''I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to. How'd you sleep?'' He asked, as he began making breakfast. He himself had had the best night's sleep of his life. It had been amazing, feeling his child kicking. He had never experienced anything like that before. Yeah, he had five other children, but this was the first time that he was having a child with the love of his life. It was a very different feeling.

Olivia smiled happily. ''I slept wonderfully. Thanks for asking, baby. Are you ready to see the closing arguements? I can't wait to see what Kelso's going to do. It should be exciting.'' She got out some creamer for her coffee. It was decaf, of course.

Elliot got out bread for toast and put the scrambled eggs in the pan. ''That kid Kelso is really weird. Is he _trying _to lose? Because I can't believe that Zierko's letting him get away with that. He's a better lawyer than that, and you know I can't stand Zierko.''

Olivia smiled. She was really starting to like Matt Kelso, even if he was a little weird. He reminded her of a younger Munch. ''Yeah, he's got business cards that say 'Worst Lawyer Ever'. He has to be a trust fund kid, or something, because I don't know why he went through all those years of school just to be the worst lawyer ever.''

Elliot rolled his eyes. ''I like the kid, I just wonder why he's so weird. It's not helping Kathy and Leslie much. Why isn't Zierko stepping in? I mean, they totally deserve to be put away, but they deserve a fair trial.'' He could hardly believe that he was saying it, but what he couldn't believe even more was that he believed it.

His girlfriend shrugged. ''Beats me. Maybe he still thinks the kid's going to pull a win out of nowhere. You never know. Maybe he'll give it the old college try.'' She moved her hair out of her face. It was growing so fast. The doctor had told her it was the hormones.

Elliot finished the eggs and placed them and some toast in front of his girlfriend. ''Enjoy, baby.'' He said, giving her a kiss. It was routine, and it felt great. It felt like he was finally with his soulmate. The only problem was that the kids hadn't been around lately. Maureen had moved back in at the house in Queens, and enrolled Eli in daycare. Since Elliot worked such crazy hours, that's what they'd agreed upon. Elliot just thought that Maureen and Kathleen were pissed at him for what had happened. Even with Kathy having had her 'psychotic break'. They were angry that he'd hooked up with Olivia and had gotten her pregnant.

Olivia looked at him. ''Babe, what are you thinking about so hard?'' She asked, as he finally joined her at the table, setting down his own plate. She hoped that he was OK. She didn't want any more drama. She just wanted them to be happy together.

Elliot replied, ''Just marvelling at how happy I've been in the past three months. I can't believe that we wasted so much time.'' When he thought about it, it made him really angry. He tried not to, he just wanted to be happy with her.

Olivia felt her eyes fill with tears. She cursed her pregnancy hormones again. ''It's all in the past, baby. We're together now. Don't stress yourself out wishing it was different. All that matters is, we have each other.''

Elliot smiled at her and they finished their breakfast. Afterwards, they cleaned up together and made love on the kitchen floor. It was the best sex yet.

Then, they both went to get ready for court. After Olivia had showered and gone into the living room to wait for Elliot, they got a visitor. Olivia went to get the door. It was Kathleen, El's second oldest. ''Hi, Kathleen.'' Olivia said.

''Hello, Ms. Benson. May I come in?'' Kathleen looked really pissed off about something, but that was usual with her. Olivia had in the recent years, never seen her when she wasn't pissed off.

Olivia nodded and stepped back to let her in. Since she and Elliot had begun living together, Maureen and Kathleen had taken to calling her 'Ms Benson' instead of Olivia or Liv. She knew that they wanted it to bother her, but it did not. Not much bothered her these days. ''What's up, Kathleen?'' She asked.

Kathleen folded her arms. ''You know, it's your fault that my mother went insane and tried to kill my dad. If you had just found someone else to spawn with, instead of someone else's husband, then my parents would still be together right now.''

Olivia said, fighting the urge to smile, ''Yeah, and they'd be stuck in an unhappy marriage. Don't you see, Kathleen, that your father didn't love her the same way anymore? He's always going to care about her, she's your mother, he just wasn't in love with her anymore. That's something that you kids are going to have to face eventually.''

Kathleen hadn't expected such an honest answer from her. ''I didn't expect you to be so honest with me. That being said, you still should have kept your hands to yourself when it came to my dad.''

Olivia's mouth dropped open. What was it with these Stabler women? ''Excuse me? What happens with your father and I is our business. You need to back off, Kathleen.''

Elliot joined them, looking refreshed. ''What's up, Kathleen? Did you piss Olivia off already? You've been here less than five minutes. You need to chill. We've talked about this. You are _not_ going to treat her this way.'' He finished tying his tie.

Kathleen didn't say anything, she just left in a huff. Olivia smiled at Elliot as they left the apartment. She refused to let that child's comments get to her. Because in the end, it didn't matter what Kathleen thought. She and Elliot were happy, and there was nothing Kathy and her children could do about it.

The courtroom was full when they got there. Olivia let Elliot lead her up front, Fin had saved them seats. ''Casey's ready to take the bitches down.'' He told them as they sat.

Olivia looked at Casey, who was talking to herself and flipping through index cards. ''I can tell she is, she looks ready.'' She felt Elliot wrap his arms around her, and it made her feel safe.

Elliot could feel that weird kid's eyes on him, and tried to ignore it. The kid was strange. He also felt Kathy and Leslie glaring at him. He met Kathy's gaze and pulled Olivia closer, hoping it pissed them off. He got what he wanted; Kathy shot him a death glare.

A couple of minutes later, closing arguements began. Matt Kelso went first, much to Olivia's happiness. He straightened his tie and got up to address the jury. He was looking gleeful. ''The People are going to tell you that Kathy Stabler and Leslie Davenport are crazy women who took revenge on Olivia Benson. They're going to tell you that they did this by trying to kill her boyfriend. The father of her child. And The People are right. Leslie and Kathy are both insane. They did what they did because they are not in control of their actions. They had a 'psychotic break', if you will. Get them the help that they need. Find them guilty. They need to learn that there are consequences for your actions.'' Then he sat down again, as Zierko shook his head, annoyed.

Then it was Casey's turn. ''Kathy Stabler and Leslie Davenport broke the law because they were pissed off. Kathy Stabler was jilted by her husband with the one woman that she was always afraid her husband loved more than her. Does that give her the right to try and kill him? Did that give her the right to tell the world that Olivia Benson had been murdered? No, ladies and gentlemen, it does not. Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson didn't kill anyone, they didn't rob a bank, they didn't do anything wrong. They didn't do anything but give in to what had been there all along. That's not illegal. They loved each other and they did what came natural. That did not give Kathy and Leslie the right to hire two men to try and kill Elliot Stabler. They can't take matters into their own hands just because he chose to love another woman. Do the right thing. Find them guilty. They deserve to pay for what they've done.''

Olivia and Elliot looked at each other and grinned. They knew that Casey had nailed it with that closing arguement. It didn't help that Kelso had tried to lose. Court adjourned, and Casey joined Elliot and Olivia for lunch. They were surprised when Kelso joined them, too.

_**Author's Note: Coming up next chappie, we find out the verdict and sentencing of Kathy and Leslie. Plus, the gender of the baby. Leave a review, or it'll end right here. Oh, and couldn't you just SEE Casey giving that final arguement? I was proud of that myself. Anyways, thanks, and peace, ya'll!**_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Later that evening, Olivia was relaxing on the couch, watching a rerun of Monk. She thought this guy was unbelievable. Nobody was that good. Not even she and Elliot were. Her hands were resting on her belly, and she was feeling the baby kicking. It was amazing. She was trying to ignore the craving for ice cream she was having at the moment.

Elliot was standing in the kitchen, pacing nervously. He was holding an engagement ring in a little black box. He was going to ask Olivia as soon as he got up the nerve. He knew that he couldn't live without her. He never wanted to.

Olivia was yelling at the television when Elliot came into the living room, hiding the ring in his jeans pocket. ''There can't be a real dectective like this.'' She was annoyed, but oddly fascinated. He was a little weird like Munch, only oddly not. It was very disconcerting. She wasn't sure if she liked the show or not.

Elliot had seen it a couple of times, and he agreed with Olivia. Monk was just too good. ''You figure it out yet?'' He asked, knowing she hadn't. It was insane, they solved all kinds of cases all the time, but they got stumped by the cases on the crime shows. It made him laugh sometimes. Monk always solved it before he did. So did the guy on _Psych_, he was sad to say.

Olivia said, ''I have my suspicions, but it's not the guy that Monk chose and not for the same reason. He is very odd. He reminds me of Munch.'' She watched as Monk went through the crime scene, doing that weird thing with his hands.

Elliot sat down next to her on the couch. As they cuddled up together, Monk was explaining how the suspect had killed the victim because he had a dog. Elliot wondered how Monk had that much eye for detail. ''So what do you think is going to happen in court tomorrow? Casey called a little bit ago to tell me that the jury's back already.''

Olivia turned to look at him. ''I think that they're going to say that she's guilty. I mean, even if there's a few jurors who feel sympathetic to her because I'm the mean evil other woman, she was crazy in court. That totally hurt her.''

Elliot said, ''I have never heard you ramble like that, but I have to say I agree. It didn't help that Casey pulled out the knowledge of our baby in court.'' He wanted to rib her a little about it, he still was a little bothered by it. No matter what Kathy had done, that didn't make them look good. It could have hurt the case.

Olivia sensed his tone. It was light, but it had a touch of his 'Stabler' tone. The one that used to cause a lot of fights. ''Um, I'm sorry that you chose not to like what Case and I decided to do, but I don't regret it. She needed to be told when she couldn't do anything about it. Why are you bringing this up now?'' She got up off the couch, the end of _Monk _forgotten.

Elliot tried not to roll his eyes. He knew that he didn't want to fight about this. They'd been doing so well for three months. ''Look, Livvy, baby, I didn't mean to start a fight about this. All I'm saying is that Casey shouldn't have agreed to it. It could have hurt the case.''

Olivia folded her arms. ''We had a solid case against her. It didn't matter what Case and I did. The case was always solid. I'm sorry that you didn't like it. I wanted to make her as miserable as I could. I know that I don't usually do that, but she nearly killed you. She deserves life in prison. So does Leslie.''

Elliot got up so they could fight better if that's what they were going to do. ''Liv, sweetheart, I'm not judging you. Look, it doesn't matter. It's over. We'll find out what happens tomorrow.''

Olivia knew he was just trying to avoid a fight. ''I'm going to bed. I don't want to fight with you either and there's no point in it.'' She headed off to their bedroom, and Elliot honestly wasn't sure at all if he was permitted to join her.

The next morning, they were a little frosty to each other, but it was nothing like it was when they used to fight before. They didn't speak until they got to court. They apologized, and made up before they went in.

The jury seemed happy to announce that they had found Kathy and Leslie guilty. They must have been medicated before court, because neither of them made a scene. They both got 25 to life, which was a little bit extreme, but Olivia felt justice had been done, so they headed off to the doctor. Olivia had a checkup. They were also going to find out the gender of the baby.

Once Olivia had slipped on the gown and had slipped onto the exam table, she started to relax. The whole mess with Kathy was over. She was holding her boyfriend's hand and they were getting ready to find out the sex of their baby. Life was really beginning now.

Elliot was wondering what the doctor was going to say. He hoped that the baby and Livvy were going to be fine. He didn't want to lose either one of them. ''Liv, what are you hoping for?'' They actually hadn't discussed it yet.

Olivia smiled. ''I want a little girl. I've always wanted a little girl. But you know I'll love it no matter what. The only person I've ever wanted to have a child with is you, and it's already yours.'' They shared a smile as the doctor came in.

''Ms. Benson, Mr. Stabler. How're you feeling today?'' Dr. Gellar pulled Olivia's chart out from underneath her arm.

Olivia smiled as Elliot's grip on her hand tightened. ''I'm doing fine, and so is El. We're excited to find out what gender the baby is. Also if it's healthy. That's a must.''

Dr. Gellar slid the gel over Liv's bump so they could take a look at the baby. She was glad. It looked very healthy and normal, thank God. She smiled to herself. ''Good news, Bensler. You're having a girl.''

Olivia ceased to listen as Dr. Gellar continued to discuss their baby girl with Elliot. She was thinking of baby names and how she was going to decorate the baby's room. Pink was definitely going to be involved.

_**Author's Note: The next chapter may be the last. I don't know yet. The muse is totally in control with this one. Next chappie, Liv and El go shopping for Baby Girl Bensler's room. Will he propose? Review to find out!**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A couple of months later, Olivia was standing in her daughter's room, feeling her kicking while she was deciding what furniture should go where. They'd already decided on a name, Calliegh Serena. The Serena was for Olivia's mother. She'd had a torturous relationship with her, but she felt she owed her that.

Elliot joined her, carrying the bassinet. He paused as he saw her, looking confused. ''Baby, I thought you had everything figured out.'' He said, as he stood for a second.

Olivia sighed, ''I did, but but when I got everything planned, I forgot to include a rocking chair. I bought one, they deliver it tomorrow. I can't believe I forgot.'' She pointed to a spot in the corner, and he put the bassinet there.

She watched as he did so, holding her hands on her stomach. She could hardly believe that this was happening. He was finally hers. She looked at her ring finger. It was ringless. She had been wondering when he was going to ask. She knew he wanted to, they'd discussed marriage. He wanted his daughter's parents to be married.

Olivia stood back to look at the bassinet as Elliot stepped back. ''Does it look alright to you, babe?'' He asked, hoping it did. He didn't want to move it again.

As she stared at it, she didn't notice that he had gotten down on one knee and pulled out a little black box. ''Oh my God, Elliot.'' She said, tears immediately coming to her eyes.

Elliot said, ''Hold on, Liv. Let me get this out.'' He paused, and took a deep breath, trying to ignore his tears. ''I have loved you for ten long years. Ever since the day I saw you. I never thought you'd make it in the unit. I wanted you to, since I loved SOOOO much but I never thought you would. Then, you proved me wrong. I never thought my dream of being with you was going to come true.'' He had to pause again, tears having filled his deep baby blues. ''And now that it has, I'm the happiest I've ever been.''

Olivia had tears filling her eyes. She couldn't speak for a minute. She finally found her voice. ''I so will marry you. You HAVE to marry me so I can regain my virtue.'' She said, making them both laugh.

He slipped the ring on her finger and wrapped his arms around her, both of them laughing as they worked around Liv's growing belly. ''You are amazing.'' He told her gave her a toe curling kiss.

After which, he went back to setting up the furniture in Calliegh's room. Olivia headed back in the kitchen, staring at her ring. She was thinking about the one of the best Christmases of her life. It was three Christmases ago, and it was when she'd realized how much she'd really begun to want to be with Elliot.

_2005, Christmas_

_It was snowing, and Olivia was just finishing decorating her tree. Fin was helping her since she didn't have any family. They were having fun, though. Olivia was playing Harry Connick's Christmas CD, and they had Kahlua. _

_Olivia said, ''I wonder how El's handling being all by himself. Kathy's got the kids and she took them to Florida.'' She tried to say it as casually as she could. _

_Fin smiled to himself and said, ''I don't know. He looked pretty bummed when I told him that I was coming over to help you decorate your tree. He told me that he was just going to watch _It's A Wonderful Life _and have pizza.'' _

_Olivia said, ''Well, we could do that, too, after the tree's decorated. He should call El and see if he wants to come over. So he won't be alone.'' She made sure to make it look like she didn't want it too much. _

_Fin smiled to himself again. ''OK. Let's get this tree decorated and then we'll call him.'' He went to get himself some more Kahlua. It wasn't real strong but it was better than hot chocolate. _

_Twenty minutes later, Olivia was nervously calling her best friend. He answered on the first ring. ''Hey, Livvy. What's going on? I thought you were hanging out with Fin today?''_

_Olivia poured herself some more Kahlua. For some reason, she was really nervous. ''I am. We thought it'd be cool if you came over to watch _It's A Wonderful Life_ and get some pizza.'' She hoped it didn't sound too obvious. She knew it did a little, and that was bad enough._

_Elliot sounded really glad she'd asked. ''Um, I guess so. What time do you want me to be over?'' He hoped his reply didn't sound too eager. _

_They agreed upon nine, and hung up. Liv tried to keep the smile off her face. It would make it too obvious to Fin that she was wanting him to come over. It was bad enough that he knew how she felt about Elliot. _

_Fin decided that he'd leave them alone. Ever since El and Kathy had divorced, he'd been waiting for Liv and El to get together. He'd wait until El got there and he'd make up some excuse to get out of there. He wanted them to tell each other how they felt, and if he was there, that would never happen. _

_It was easy to tell that Olivia was nervous by the time nine o'clock rolled around. She had gone and put on a nicer top with her jeans. Fin acted like he didn't notice it was for Elliot. She had gotten some cheese and crackers out, too. It was about all she had. She didn't keep much food in the house. _

_Fin got the door when Elliot arrived, because Liv was freshening up for the 3rd time. ''Hey, El. How're you doin'?'' He asked, as he stepped back to let him in. _

_Elliot had spiffed up a little, too, he could tell. He was wearing jeans, but he had a very nice shirt on. ''I'm OK I guess. I'm glad ya'll wanted me to come over. I didn't really want to be by myself. It's Christmas Eve.'' _

_Fin smiled. ''I'm glad you decided to come. Olivia will be, too. She's already ordered the pizza so we wouldn't have to wait.''_

_Elliot hung his jacket on the coat rack and settled on the couch. He was looking forward to this. It would be an oppurtunity to tell Liv how he really felt. He just hoped he had the courage. _

_A little while later, Fin had begged off sucessfully, Elliot and Olivia were seated on the couch, watching Jimmy Stewart and eating the pizza. They were both really nervous. Liv kept giving him glances, wondering what he was thinking. He was being really really quiet. _

_Elliot was casting glances at her, too. He was wanting to kiss her, but he couldn't get up the courage. He just ate another slice of pizza and wondered if he ever would._

Liv was bolted back to the present by the phone ringing. She picked it up. ''Benson.'' She said, easing herself into a chair. It was getting harder and harder to sit down.

It was Casey. ''Hey, girl. Just wondering how you were doing. Since I got suspended, I have had a lot of time on my hands.'' Casey had had fibbed on some test results and gotten herself into trouble. She added, ''I also want to know 'cause you're my best friend.''

Olivia smiled. ''I'm OK. Guess what just happened?'' She was still staring at her ring. El really knew how to pick out a ring. It was so beautiful.

Casey was settled on her couch, watching an old _Dukes of Hazzard_ rerun. ''What? Did you get the baby's room decorated? I remember you saying that you needed to do that.''

Olivia replied, ''Yeah, but that's not what I wanted to tell you. Elliot finally proposed.'' She knew Casey would be happy. She had been bugging El for months.

Casey squealed with excitement. ''That's great, Liv. What did he say? Tell me everything.''

Olivia began to tell her what happened, and she was really glad to tell her. She was happiest she had ever been in her life. She was finally having a baby, and she was having it with the love of her life. ''Casey, he told me that he loved me ever since he first saw me.''

Casey said, ''That's so sweet. Munch said he could tell. You were all he could talk about for six months. Cassidy was supposedly really jealous.''

Olivia was surprised Casey knew all of that. ''You and Munch spend a lot of time together, don't you?'' She wondered if Munch and Casey had something going on.

Casey laughed. ''Yeah, I guess. While you've been falling for Elliot, Munch and I have been having lunch once a week. There's nothing going on, but I enjoy hearing his theories.''

Olivia was surprised again. It was one thing to hang out with Munch, it was another thing to actually want to hear Munch's theories. ''Are you crazy? He's way too into the whole government trying to kill us thing.''

They talked a bit more, and then Casey went back to job searching. Olivia settled back to watch television, thinking about Elliot. She loved him so much it scared her sometimes.

She was startled by Elliot himself as he came into the kitchen. ''Hey, baby. Calliegh's room is looking pretty good. Lots of pink, like you wanted.'' He told her.

Olivia grinned. ''Great. I'm so excited. I still can't believe we're having a baby.''

Elliot kissed her. ''I'm so glad. Well, I've got to go pick Eli up. I'll be back in an hour. Love you, baby.'' He kissed her again, grabbed his jacket, and left.

Olivia settled back on the couch, and about twenty minutes later, she began to have stomach pains. She called the ambulance, and then she called Elliot. She hoped she wasn't losing the baby. Not after she finally got pregnant.

_**Author's note: Hahahahaha. I have to leave there! Isn't that awesome? It's the first chapter in awhile and it's a cliffhanger! Hahahahaha. Read and review, or no one will know if Liv loses the baby! PS, thanks to kitkat103 for Calliegh's first name!**_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The hospital was busy, and Elliot was waiting nervously in the waiting room. They had had to do an emergency surgery because of the cramps she'd had. He hoped that everything was alright, she was only seven months along. He didn't want to lose the baby, not after everything it took to get her pregnant. Plus, he knew if his ex-wife ever found out, it would make her really happy, and he didn't ever want her to be happy at his expense ever again.

Fin was waiting too, he'd gone to get coffee. Casey was there, too, watching Eli so Elliot could pace. He was so nervous. He didn't want to lose Liv, either. He didn't even know what he would do if that happened.

They were interrupted by the doctor, Dr. Summers, coming to update them. ''Mr. Stabler?'' He asked, turning to Elliot. He had forgotten that Elliot was a dectective.

Elliot tried to keep the tears off his face. ''How's my fiancee and my baby?'' He asked, hoping everything was all OK. His baby had a name, she had a room, she was going to be loved. He couldn't lose her, he knew that he and Liv wouldn't be coming back from that. That would devastate them.

Dr. Summers said, ''We had to do an emergency c-section. The baby is in the ICU, because her heart stopped. We had to start it again. We're going to monitor her to make sure that her heart's going to keep beating. After a day or so, we're going to take her off the defibulator.'' He paused at the look on El's face, mistaking it for confusion. ''It's a machine that will start her heart again if it stops.''

Elliot was really working to keep the tears off his face now. ''And what about Olivia? Is she alright?'' He actually held his breath as he waited for the answer. He needed to know, so he could keep breathing. If she wasn't, he was going to find it hard to want to.

Dr. Summers nodded. ''She's fine. She's still knocked out from the anesthia. She'll wake up soon. You can see her, and then one of the interns will get you ready to see Calliegh.''

Elliot thanked him and headed off to Liv's room. She was still asleep, but she was moving. He sat down by her bed and took her hand, the tears finally catching up with him. This was horrible. Why couldn't they just be happy? Was the universe punishing them for being in love with each other for so long?

Liv woke up, feeling El's hand in hers. ''How's the baby? How's Calliegh?'' She couldn't remember anything that had happened once she had arrived at the hospital.

Elliot wiped his face with a tissue. ''She's on a machine that monitors her heart. They're going to keep her on it until they make sure that her heart is going to beat on its own.'' He hoped that Liv didn't think it was because of her age that this had happened. He didn't want her blaming herself.

Olivia's eyes filled with tears. ''Are they hopeful that she'll be OK? What happened?'' She could hardly believe that this was happening.

Elliot began to cry again. ''Her heart stopped. They had to start it again. Our baby is on a heart machine.'' He put his arms around her and they sat that way for awhile.

About an hour later, one of the interns, Alyson, came to give Elliot a gown and some gloves. She turned to Olivia. ''I know that you want to see your baby, but we need you to rest awhile. I will have someone come and take you after we make sure that your vitals are stable. OK?''

Olivia nodded and Elliot gave her a kiss before he headed off to the nursery. Casey came in, carrying Eli. ''Hey, Casey.'' She said, taking an ice chip from the cup Elliot had gotten her.

Casey sat down on the chair beside her and settled Eli on her lap. ''So, did Elliot go and see Calliegh?'' She asked, as Olivia played with Eli's curly blonde hair.

Olivia nodded. ''They want to make sure that my vitals are stable before I get to see her. It's OK, I want to prepare myself for it, she's on a heart machine.'' She ran her hand through her shoulder-length mess.

Casey squeezed her hand. ''I'm sure that she's beautiful. And I'm sure that she'll be fine.'' Casey really wished that she would be. Their holidays would go horribly if they lost their little girl. Not to mention, she knew Olivia would lose it if she lost her baby after all she had to go through.

Olivia managed not to cry. ''I hope so. She and El are all I ever wanted.'' She knew in her heart that that was why she hadn't ever gotten close to any other male for that long of a time, she had wanted Elliot. And she wanted his baby.

Elliot was looking at his baby, at Calliegh Serena Stabler, and trying to be calm. She was so tiny. But she was so beautiful. He watched her, breathing in and out. He loved her more than anything in the world.

Alyson had stayed with him, but she'd stood back and let him just watch his child. She spoke now, though. ''Her vitals are fine, and they expect that she'll be fine. I think she'll be OK.'' She wanted to give him hope, he looked so broken. And she really did think that. Dr. Summers didn't have the best bedside manner.

After a few more minutes, they went back to Olivia's room. Alyson checked on her, and it was decided that she was fine, but Alyson wanted to monitor her before she took her down. Alyson told her that she would check on Calliegh every hour for her and let her know how she was doing.

Elliot joined them, sitting on Olivia's bed with her. Casey took Eli back into the waiting room. Maureen and the twins had finally shown up and they agreed to watch him so Casey could fill Cragen, Munch, and Cassidy and let them all know what was going on. In all the craziness, no one had called them. They must be going out of their minds with worry.

The next morning, Calliegh had greatly improved, so they took her off the difibulator. Her heart was beating strongly, and they were about to take her out of the ICU and into the nursery with the other babies. Olivia had finally started to stablize and stay that way, so they took her down to see her.

She sat down in her wheelchair and let Alyson take her down. Elliot refused to leave her, but he was tired, so she made him take a nap in the waiting room. She had thankfully been able to get clean, and that had made her feel a little better. Her long hair was pulled into a ponytail.

Olivia cried at how beautiful and healthy Calliegh looked. Dr. Summers had told her that she was going to be fine. She'd be able to take her home in a week or two. They wanted her to get stronger. She watched her for about an hour or so, and then Alyson took her back. She had to eat something, keep her strength up.

Fin was waiting in her room when Alyson brought her back. He looked like he'd been crying. ''Hey, Livvy, babygirl. I'm glad that you're OK.'' He smiled at her, and Liv had never felt more like a little sister in her life.

Olivia settled back in her bed and put in her lunch order, then turned to him. ''I'm just glad that Calliegh's going to be OK. She's tiny, but she's beautiful, and she's a fighter. Just like her mommy.'' She had to keep the tears back when she said that.

Fin smiled, and agreed. ''That's just like her moms.'' Then, he changed the subject by telling her about Eli crawling all around the apartment and Maureen trying to chase him. She thought that was funny.

A week later, they were going to the car, having bundled Calliegh up in a pink onesie Liv had bought, pink blankets, and then in the car seat in Elliot's car. Olivia kept looking back at her, making sure that she was really there. She was all pink and smelled wonderful, and was the most beautiful baby Liv had ever seen.

Olivia took Calliegh in her arms when they got home, and couldn't take her eyes off her. Elliot had to keep pointing out doors and walls until they got to the apartment. Then, Olivia put her in the crib, and proceeded to stare at her.

Elliot followed her, carrying the diaper bag. ''Livvy, baby, I know you want to stand there and stare at her, but you really should go and sleep. She'll be crying at three in the morning and you really need to sleep when she does.''

Olivia nodded. ''I know. I'm tired, too. Alright. Are you coming with me? You've barely slept all week. Don't tell me that you have, I know you haven't. I've got spies.'' Casey had kept her apprised of Elliot's sleeping habits.

Elliot grinned a little sheepishly. ''I tried to, I knew you wanted me to.'' He kissed her and headed off to shower, while Olivia headed off to bed.

She'd fallen asleep by the time Elliot joined her. She felt him wrap his arms around her as he got comfortable. She melded her body to his, and realized that she was the happiest she ever had been. Life could really start now. She finally had a family.

The End

_**Author's note: Thanks for reading this far. This is my most reviewed story on this site. Please review this last chapter. Maybe there'll be a sequel. If I get 75 or more reviews for this, I'll let the muse attempt a sequel. Thanks again for the support!!!!!!!**_


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